A new development journey for Vietnam’s stock market

2026 marks the point at which Vietnam’s stock market must move from merely “meeting eligibility criteria” to “operating in a stable and sustainable manner” in line with the standards of an emerging market, said Bui Hoang Hai, Vice Chairman of the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC).

What was the most impressive achievement the stock market recorded in 2025, in your view?

The most significant highlight was FTSE Russell’s announcement that Vietnam had met all criteria and was upgraded from a frontier market to a secondary emerging market.

This achievement reflects a comprehensive reform process covering the legal framework, technology infrastructure, accessibility for foreign investors, and the quality of management and supervision.

On the infrastructure front, the new information technology system was officially put into operation after many years of preparation. This modern system integrates all market activities - from order reception to clearing and settlement - while offering new features that provide a secure and advanced technical foundation for developing new products, enhancing transaction processing capacity, and meeting international standards.

In terms of scale, the equity, bond, and derivatives markets all posted strong growth. Equity market capitalization rose by approximately 39% compared to the end of 2024, equivalent to an estimated 77.6% of GDP in 2025.

The VN-Index increased by more than 40%, placing Vietnam’s stock market among the fastest-growing in the region and globally. This upward momentum was supported by consistently high liquidity. The number of investor accounts continued to rise, surpassing 11.8 million, demonstrating sustained public confidence in the market.

Alongside growth, a series of new regulations were issued to remove bottlenecks and constraints, creating conditions for the market to operate in an increasingly transparent and efficient manner.

Meeting FTSE’s upgrading criteria required a substantial workload. In your opinion, what factors were most critical to this success?

Indeed, the workload was extensive and wide-ranging, from completing the legal framework and reforming infrastructure to optimizing processes, improving market quality, and engaging in policy dialogue with international organizations. Therefore, today’s achievements are the result of collective effort and determination from many stakeholders.

First, market upgrading received strong attention and close direction from the Government and the Ministry of Finance, with the goal of building a modern stock market capable of serving as a key medium- and long-term capital mobilization channel for the economy.

This decisive factor helped unify actions, enhance inter-agency coordination, and promptly remove bottlenecks - thereby strengthening investor confidence and the assessments of international ranking organizations.

On that basis, the securities sector’s reform efforts, aligned with the Party and State’s policies, formed the foundation for meeting upgrading criteria. Under the direction of the Ministry of Finance, the SSC proactively implemented a wide range of measures focused on improving the legal framework, enhancing transparency, expanding foreign investor access, and modernizing infrastructure in line with international standards.

At the same time, we engaged extensively with international investors and market ranking organizations to conduct policy dialogue and reaffirm Vietnam’s reform commitment, thereby reinforcing positive assessments from the global investment community.

In addition, close coordination among ministries and agencies - particularly the State Bank of Vietnam in formulating and issuing regulations related to foreign investor activities - along with valuable support from the World Bank, experts from FTSE Russell, global investors, and the cooperation of domestic and international media, helped accelerate the market upgrading process.

One particularly important factor, in my view, was the positive shift and proactive efforts of market participants, especially securities firms and listed companies. Securities firms upgraded their systems, strengthened financial capacity and risk governance, and notably implemented solutions that do not require full pre-funding before trading - a key upgrading criterion - thereby improving the experience of foreign investors. Listed companies also increasingly focused on improving corporate governance and strictly complying with disclosure standards.

2026 will be a crucial year as Vietnamese stocks are officially included in FTSE’s emerging market indices. What key tasks will the SSC prioritize in the coming year?

In 2026, we must transition from “meeting eligibility” to “operating stably and sustainably” in accordance with emerging market standards. The SSC will continue to comprehensively implement the tasks and solutions set out in Decision No. 2014/QD-TTg dated September 12, 2025, issued by the Prime Minister approving the Project for upgrading Vietnam’s stock market. Key priorities include:

First, continuing to improve the legal and policy framework in a consistent manner aligned with international practices.

Second, further refining technical and operational mechanisms, including expanding the role of global securities firms in trading and research activities, implementing omnibus account models in line with international practice, and optimizing trading and account management processes for foreign institutional investors.

Third, accelerating upgrades to trading infrastructure, with a focus on implementing clearing and settlement under the central counterparty (CCP) model and straight-through processing (STP) mechanisms between securities firms and custodian banks.

Fourth, expanding supply and diversifying market products by promoting research and development of new instruments, and improving disclosure quality and corporate governance among listed companies to enhance market depth and product diversity.

Fifth, strengthening ongoing dialogue with domestic and foreign investors, market ranking organizations, and international financial institutions to promptly capture market feedback and adjust policies accordingly, through the Investor Advisory Group (IAG) and other communication mechanisms.

In parallel, inspection, supervision, detection, and handling of violations will remain continuous tasks to ensure market integrity, safety, stability, and transparency, while protecting the lawful rights and interests of investors and all market participants.